Why UX/UI Design Matters in Fintech

In the quest to create the best product borne from a brilliant idea, companies often forget the specifics of product design. However, marketing and UX/UI design are inevitably intertwined, and one can’t be effective without the other. 

For the longest time, marketing and UX/UI design has been compared and weighted against each other, with some favoring one over the other. Pitting them against each other can be a costly mistake, however, because each affects the other in ways that will either push a product to succeed or doom it to failure.

Fintech is one industry where UX/Ui is vital but faces critical challenges. Not only UI/UX has impact on the user’s behaviour but it also has cybersecurity aspects as it is affected by affected by consumer behavior. 

With so many passwords and account details to remember, users gravitate toward what’s simpler and more convenient, i.e., simple passwords that can be cracked by cybercriminals within seconds. To prevent this, UX/UI design for fintech should be designed in a way that moves towards a passwordless world while also encouraging and assisting users to create gain trust in passwordless / zero trust authentication via a friendly user interface or in-app guidance.

In today’s business landscape, where user behavior is often dynamic and unpredictable, keeping track of it requires product and UX/UI teams to work together. The consumer still remains king, and customer experience is a valuable metric that will determine the success of a product.

The seamless integration of UX/UI design and marketing requires not only the acknowledgement of each one’s influence on each other; it’s also as important to find the right team that will help make this happen.

Why UX/UI Design Projects Fail?

Financial products or services can be feature-packed and functional but lack beauty and polish or be hard to use, and this disconnect is an excellent example of how products can fail if UX/UI design and marketing don’t see eye to eye. Ultimately, customer experience is what bridges the chasm between a product and its end users.

It’s a delicate mix, however, and some fintech companies fail to achieve a return on investment (ROI) because they don’t find the right UX/UI design agency for their specific use case. This results in them investing more and losing more in future projects without knowing the root cause of the problem. This often leads to companies putting the blame on the UX/UI design process and abandoning it altogether, resulting in an even bigger mess.

The UX/UI design process involves the use of a number of tools and methods to ensure that the target design and functionalities are achieved and that the intended consumers are provided with a user-friendly experience. Without the necessary pieces of the puzzle, this process can’t be completed effectively. Below are some of the reasons why UX/UI design projects fail.

  1. Hiring an inexperienced UX/UI design agency
    Experienced UX/UI design agencies are preferred by many companies because it shortens the learning curve and, consequently, project turnaround times. However, finding an agency experienced in your specific niche may not be as simple. UX/UI designers or agencies may have years of experience, but all this is irrelevant if they aren’t knowledgeable in what your business is trying to achieve. 
  2. Not ensuring commitment to the project
    Some financial institutions cut costs by delegating the UX/UI design process to freelancers. While this can be feasible for smaller and shorter projects, it’s not a sustainable solution for large-large projects that take dedication and commitment. There’s also the possibility that freelancers may become less available and can’t commit the time required to finish the project or meet set deadlines. Ultimately, you may do the majority of the work, which defeats the purpose of hiring freelancers.
  3. Hiring a UX/UI design agency too late
    The implementation of a UX/UI design process is ideally done during the early stages of product development. Otherwise, the design agency will not have a full understanding of your product and brand and come up with a half-baked design that’s not user-friendly and intuitive. Hiring a UX/UI design agency too late will also result in product modifications in the later stages of product development, which can put the project at risk due to the additional effort, time, and cost required to implement them.
  4. A siloed UX/UI design agency
    Isolating the UI/UX design agency from the rest of the project team hinders the progress of the project because other teams are restricted from providing input into the design process. In the early stages of development, the agency should be able to decide on the type of data and methods of research required to gain a deeper understanding of the end users. This allows UI/UX designers to create a wireframe that will act as a guideline on how to craft the product according to customer needs. After the product has been delivered, the UI/UX design agency should collect feedback from users to be used in the iteration stages.
The Value of UX/UI + Marketing

In creating the best product possible, companies ultimately endeavor to provide customer satisfaction. This should be kept in mind during project development because this ensures a good customer-centric design that both meets user needs and gives you a competitive edge.

Focusing on UI/UX design ensures that customers are delighted by your product. Great functionality coupled with an intuitive interface will provide a great user experience. Unfortunately, many companies are too focused on increasing conversion rates that they fail to give the overall customer experience the necessary attention. What many companies don’t realize is that by devoting time to UX/UI design, the end product becomes more attuned to both user and market demands. Great product UX/UI design leads to a more marketable product and more conversions down the line. Not to mention, users become advocates of your product because of their positive experience with it.

How PitangoUX Drives Product Success

PitangoUX focuses on a human-centered approach that aims to provide a seamless brand experience across all touchpoints. It tempers passionate design philosophy with an in-depth understanding of the end user. This results in a product that not only boasts innovative and functional design but also provides a user-friendly interface that’s intuitive and easy to use.

Depending on the scope of the project, a UX/UI design agency should be able to provide a reasonable estimate of completion. Typically, standard UX/UI design projects can be completed within a few days or several weeks. Regardless, PitangoUX ensures constant communication from project start to finish. Keeping communication lines open helps keep delays and other issues at bay while keeping expectations aligned throughout the duration of the project.

Ultimately, the time it takes to launch a product is directly proportional to how much time was invested in understanding the end user. This is where PitangoUX shines; it leverages not only design processes but also research methods to learn about customer behavior, sentiment, and current market demands. By putting themselves in the shoes of the end user, the UX/UI design team at PitangoUX adds. direction and structure to product development that results in a product that not only meets expectations but also delights and amazes customers.